external disk drive for iMac

Hi

The internal disk drive(for reading CDs, not the hard drive) on my Imac isn't functioning properly and frequently fails to read a CD or DVD that I insert. Apple have informed me that I will either have to pay £200 for them to replace the drive or buy an external drive for about £100.

Does anyone have any advice on the best option? Or are there any other options available? Could I possibly purchase a replacement internal drive somewhere else and then have Apple fit it?

many thanks
joe

if you have apple care it should cover it. but obviously if you dont then you will have to do what they said

I suppose it depends on what you want. For some people, it might really bother them that they have to use an external drive, and they would pay the money to have it fixed. Since it is a desktop, I don't see a problem with an external drive. You could probably get one that is better than the internal that Apple would give you anyway, and the cost is half as much. I would go with an external, unless it would really bother you.

FWIW....

Unlike you, superdrive in my iMac works fine. However, from the beginning I've been disappointed in its speed. (Thread in here somewhere from months ago) Bought LaCie external d2 Dual DVD RW (16x with lightscribe) for $190.00 (would be less from non-Apple-Store sources) which came with Roxio Toast 7.

Very fast; very easy; everything plugged in and worked right out of the box. Overall about twice as fast as the iMac internal drive and gives good, solid, trouble free burns at those speeds.

You didn't say iMac model or software. If earlier than mine (specs at left) probably better check compatibility.